Josh McCown is next Rich Gannon; should stay Bears QB over Jay Cutler

Tuesday

Dec 10, 2013 at 10:49 AMJan 1, 2014 at 1:30 PM

I now have more questions about Jay Cutler than Josh McCown. In the past, I wanted too see McCown play more so I'd know whether Cutler was worth keeping. McCown has shown me enough. Now Cutler needs to show more. But this isn't about the future; at 7-6, the Bears need to win now, and that means they should stick with Josh McCown.

McCown leads the NFL in Total Quarterback Rating at 85.7, two points ahead of Peyton Manning and 13 points ahead of anybody else. His passer rating of 109.8 ranks third behind Nick Foles and Manning. This for a team that has had exactly one year with a team passer rating above 81 in the last 50 years.

(And, yes, Jay Cutler was having a fine season too. Cutler ranks 10th in the NFL in QBR and 12th in passer rating, but his 88.4 passer rating is 21.5 points behind McCown.)

If I was worried most about trying to decide whether to slap the $16.2-million one-year franchise tag on Jay Cutler for next year, I would play Cutler these last three weeks to see if he was worth it.

But that's not what the Bears should be worried about.

By the way, Jay Cutler, who is a far, far, far better teammate than he is given credit for, has said he would be willing to play for the franchise tag. It's Bears' GB Phil Emery who said he doesn't want to do it. And Emery is right; that would save the Bears from doing a long-term deal, but if they do decide to keep Cutler long term, a one-year delay will just drive his price up that much further.

Anyway, the playoffs are still in sight. And if Lance Briggs and Peanut Tillman can return for the playoffs and help the defense get healthy, these new Bears, a team that can open the game by scoring touchdowns on its first seven possessions against the Cowboys on Monday night, could make some playoff noise.

Now.

That's why they should stick with Josh McCown. Because he makes the Chicago Bears better NOW.

I used to be a Vikings fan (trading Randy Moss and making me swear off the Vikings forever was the best thing that messed-up franchise ever did for me as a fan) and all of this talk about how we know who Josh McCown is because we have seen him for 10 years reminds me of what the Vikings said when they let Rich Gannon go.

And what the Chiefs said when they did the same, even though Gannon easily outplayed their young, drafted quarterback Elvis Grbac.

Well, Rich Gannon at age 34 -- the same age as Josh McCown -- moved on to the Raiders and immediately went to four straight Pro Bowls, won an MVP award and carried the Raiders to a Super Bowl. And, if not for the infamous "Tuck Rule" game in the New England snow, he might have made it two Super Bowls for the Raiders.

By the way, the Raiders hired a new offensive coordinator the year that Gannon exploded to pass for 4,689 yards. His name should be familiar to Chicago Bears fans. Yes, Marc Trestman was Gannon's offensive coordinator the year Gannon was MVP.

And now Marc Trestman is Josh McCown's coach. Gannon and McCown are similar quarterbacks. Both have decent arms, but not rifle arms. Both excel most at being accurate; look how perfectly thrown all those passes are to Alshon Jeffery. Both are about the same exact size (McCown 6-4, 212; Gannon 6-3, 210). Both are very mobile in the pocket, but don't run unless they have to.

The Bears simply have a better chance to win their final three games with Josh McCown than they would with Jay Cutler.